A Wizard and a Carnival
by SecretAssasin
Summary: What happens when the Carnival comes to town and Hermione takes Harry and the Weasleys along?


Disclaimer : I do Not own any of the characters in this .

A Wizard and a Carnival

Hermione Granger sat in the window seat of her room, Hogwarts, A History open on her lap. She had run out of parchment and ink and had been forced to use a pen and paper from her father's desk. The ballpoint wavered back and forth as she furiously took down notes she thought would be useful for the upcoming term. Her seventh and final year at Hogwarts was beginning soon and being prepared for the N.E.W.T.S. at the end of term next year was a must.

The bedroom door was ajar and through the small crack, her mother's voice sounded. "Hermione, dear? I have your lunch."

"Come in, mum."

Mrs. Granger entered with a try containing a sandwich, fruit, orange juice and a newspaper. "I thought you'd rather stay in here for lunch and keep studying. N.E.W.T.S. will be here before you know it."

"Yes, and I think I'm ahead of schedule. I only have about ten more books to go through before dinner."

"That's not very many," she said, setting the tray down beside her daughter. "Best to be prepared I always say."

Hermione ate a bite of sandwich and pointed to the paper. "Something in there you wanted to talk about?"

"Yes," she answered, folding the paper to the appropriate page. "A carnival is coming and your father and I thought you should invite your friends—Harry and the Weasleys."

Hermione put the sandwich down and took the paper from her mother, quickly scanning the full-page article. Big rides, games, food that wasn't entirely healthy and sideshows.

"It's been a long time since we took you to the carnival," said Mrs. Granger. "The last few years have proved very busy."

Hermione slowly nodded her agreement. Since beginning at Hogwarts, she'd had little time for fun. This would be just what everyone needed. No doubt the Weasleys would enjoy the outing, especially Mr. Weasley. The electricity powering the rides would no doubt put him into a state of shock. Ron...well, he'd enjoy it too and maybe get around to acting like a boyfriend and hold her hand on the scary rides.

Of course, leaving the Dursleys early would be exactly what Harry needed. They were all in need of a good time and if anyone so much as mentioned Voldemort or the war, she'd hex them into next year. Those kinds of things had no place on a day of fun. Harry didn't need to be reminded and Hermione was going to make sure no one did.

Harry Potter, soon to be seventeen years old in a few weeks, re-read the letter Hermione had just sent him by owl post. A carnival in four days? Leaving the Dursley's at anytime for any reason was all right with him. Hermione had even taken the liberty to ask Dumbledore for permission for Harry to leave early and he had agreed. He flipped Hermione's letter over, scribbled down a quick response, and attached the letter to Hedwig's leg in no time, watching her fly away until he couldn't see her anymore.

He smiled. Finally, after a long summer, he'd get to see everyone again and...her. Ginny Weasley. His face began to burn. At first he had felt uncomfortable to be having these thoughts about his best friend's little sister and he had tried to push her out of his mind, but she always snuck back in when he least expected. Last year, they'd gotten closer since she was no longer shy around him and had begun talking in his presence. She was a sprite little thing and uncannily like her mother when her temper surfaced.

He couldn't say for certain when his feelings had changed, but he thought it must have had something to do with her first letter one week into summer holiday. She sent them several times a week. She had never pried, but her letters had only been about life at the Burrow and normal, everyday things. This correspondence became a lifeline for Harry and their friendship grew to something more...for him. He didn't know how she felt. He'd never asked and he didn't plan on asking until he could straighten out his own thoughts.

Harry stood up, opened his trunk, which the Dursleys no longer kept locked in the cupboard under the stairs, he'd seen to that, and began packing up his few belongings. Though four days was not that long, Harry was more anxious than ever to leave Privet drive.

Ginny and Ron Weasley and their parents waited outside the Burrow for Mr. and Mrs. Granger and Hermione to pick them up. They had all donned Muggle clothing for the outing, as the carnival was a Muggle event. Although it was by no means late, Ron had been complaining about lack of sleep. He was a late-riser anyway, but even more so during the summer holiday. He tottered a bit on his feet as his eyelids drooped. Ginny grabbed the back of his shirt to pull him back.

"OI!" He came wide awake. "What are you trying to do? Strangle me?" He griped, rubbing his throat.

"Better that than Hermione's first sight of you in a whole month and a half to be of you snoring with your face in the dirt."

"Poke me instead next time," he said irritably, though he had gone bright red at the mention of Hermione.

"I would if I thought it would work," she said scathingly.

"That's enough you two!" shouted their mum. "If he falls face-first in the dirt, Ginny, it's his own fault for staying up so late."

"Yeah, Ron, why were you up so late?" asked their dad.

"Just reading," he mumbled, running his hand through his already tousled hair.

"Reading? You?" Ginny said in disbelief.

"Yes!" he snapped.

"Not trying to impress anyone with this newfound skill, are you?" she asked slyly.

Ron and Hermione hadn't exactly come out and said they liked each other, but everyone treated the situation as such. As for Ginny, she teased Ron as often as she could, considering his teasing about her horrendous crush on Harry years ago.

"Oh!" cried Mr. Weasley. "Here they come! In a car!" he said excitedly, pushing through Ron and Ginny to meet the large, blue vehicle that had just come to a stop.

Mr. Granger stepped out after putting the car in park. "Like it Arthur? It's not mine, but I thought renting a van would be a good idea, as there are so many of us."

"Could I look under the hood?" he asked, looking as though it were Christmas morning.

"Arthur!" cried Mrs. Weasley. "There isn't time for that now!"

"We'll have a look once we've reached the carnival," Mr. Granger whispered out of the side of his mouth to her dad.

He opened the sliding door and to their surprise, Harry appeared from the third seat.

"Where'd you come from?" asked Ron.

He held up his glasses. "I dropped them," he said, putting them back on. "What's up?"

Ron didn't answer. Obviously, he'd just seen Hermione, who looked very pretty in a pink shirt and denim shorts.

"Hello, Ron," she said with a tiny smile.

"Her-Hermione," he stuttered. "You—how...are? I—I mean, how are you?"

"Fine, thank you," she said, cheeks lightly pink.

"Could you four budge up on the third seat?" said Mrs. Weasley. "We'd like to be on the second and talk with the Grangers."

Ron nodded eagerly and hopped in, though not without difficulty. There wasn't much leg room and he tripped over Hermione's knees.

"Ouch! Ron!"

"Sorry, Hermione," he mumbled. "Hi, Harry."

Harry, who apparently tried not to laugh, said in a voice shaking with mirth, "Hullo, Ron. Need some help?"

"No," he said testily.

Ginny struggled not to laugh too and had to turn away when Harry caught her eye, grinning so big she had to bite her lip. Ron was more nervous than she thought. Before getting in the van, she blinked rapidly in an attempt to clear the tears of laughter that had appeared.

"Ginny, dear! Hurry!" said her mother, beckoning with an impatient hand.

"Coming, mum."

Thankfully, Ron was settled at last, but his knees were just about knocking him in the nose. Ginny didn't have it much easier. Ron sat next to Hermione, leaving the space empty by Harry. At one time, she may have panicked, but not now. They were friends. Ron's feet were longer than a broom and Ginny tripped over them, right onto Harry.

"Oof!" he exclaimed.

She quickly pushed off him. "Sorry!"

"S'ok," he said, rubbing his stomach. Her arm had nearly impaled him. "Better you than Duddykins." He grimaced. "Now that would hurt."

"Yeah, Ginny's heavy, but not that heavy," laughed Ron. "Ow!"

Both Ginny and Hermione pinched his arms.

Mr. Granger called, "Everyone ready?" They all said yes and the van jumped to life.

Ron, however, squirmed for the next ten minutes, managing to step on Hermione's and Ginny's feet three times each.

"I can't breathe! It's like a bloody bacon sandwich back here!" he complained. He wasn't wrong. All four of them were squished elbow to elbow.

"Ron, just turn towards me and put your arm on the back of the seat behind me."

"Huh? Why?"

"To give us more room! Just do it!" she snapped.

"All right, all right," he grumbled. He shifted away from Ginny and put his arm around Hermione.

"Isn't that better now?" she said briskly.

"Yeah," he said, a slow grin appearing. "Much better."

She rolled her eyes, but smiled. "You too, Harry."

"Me too what?"

"Move your arm. Give Ginny some room."

"Er...okay."

Even though Harry wasn't as tall as her brother, he was also too big for the back seat and ended up bumping his head on the roof before getting settled with his arm draped over the back seat. It got rather quiet after that, except for Ron and Hermione, who were whispering so softly Ginny wondered how they could hear each other.

She and Harry usually got along quite well and never had any problems talking to one another, but he seemed a little tense at the moment. He was looking out of the window very steadily, as if avoiding having to talk to her. Well, Ginny wasn't having any of that.

"How was your summer?"

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and then back to the road outside. "Boring."

"Couldn't you have hexed Dudley or something? Maybe blow up another relative?"

He laughed and finally gave her his full attention. "And risk Ministry of Magic officials bugging me some more? Perhaps I could just blow them up too."

"It'd save us all a lot of trouble," she agreed.

"Definitely. How about your summer?"

"Quiet."

"Quiet?" he repeated, surprised. "At the Burrow?"

"Well, Fred and George have been spending most of their time in Diagon Alley, getting their joke shop together."

"Have you seen it yet?"

"No," she said miserably, "I want to so badly, but they won't let anyone in yet until it's finished. Term is ready to start and I haven't replenished my supply yet."

"I never would have guessed you'd turn out like Fred and George," he marveled, shaking his head.

"I'll take that as a compliment, Harry."

They went on to discuss Quidditch in all aspects and Harry's smile was like a balm to Ginny. She'd missed him terribly over the summer, knowing he was stuck somewhere he couldn't leave. If it had been up to her, he would be a permanent resident of the Weasley household during the summer holiday. Pig had been up to the task of delivering letters nearly everyday and so they were able to talk almost everyday, but seeing him in person was so much better. While it was true that Ginny had gotten over her schoolgirl crush, it wasn't true that she'd completely forgotten about Harry. That was impossible. She had just learned controlled it better and put it to the back of her mind welcoming friendship rather than nothing at all.

Squished between her brother and Harry, Ginny was suddenly much more comfortable.

Harry, having lived with Muggles all his life, and mean Muggles at that, had never been taken to places that remotely resembled, well...fun, except when he had set the snake on Dudley at the zoo. That had been loads of fun. Needless to say, he'd never been to a carnival. The Weasleys were watching the food vendors, the sideshow acts and Muggles so intently, he was certain everyone in the carnival would peg them as tourists of some sort.

Mr. Weasley slapped his hands together excitedly. "Well, where to Harry, Hermione?" he said expectantly, looking from one to the other.

"Dunno," said Harry. "I've never been to a carnival." Mr. Weasley looked so deflated, Harry quickly added, "But don't worry, I've heard of the stuff that goes on."

"I'm starving," moaned Ron, rubbing his stomach.

"Ron, we've only just had breakfast," said Mrs. Weasley sensibly.

"That was an hour and a half ago!" he said, appalled that she could think such a thing.

"All right! Here!" She fished around in her purse and produced a handful of money.

"What's that?" said Ron, eying the colored paper curiously.

"Muggle money," she said, dishing out small handfuls to each of them. "I went to Gringotts yesterday and had it converted. Yours too, Harry."

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley," he said, accepting it.

"You're welcome, dear."

Ron eyed it dubiously and poked at it with his finger. "This actually buys things?"

Mrs. Weasley sighed impatiently. "Yes, Ron. Now, what say we meet back here for lunch around one-thirty?"

"That's fine with us," said Mrs. Granger.

"Us too," Hermione said for them.

"All right, we'll meet back here and until then, you kids have fun," said Mrs. Granger.

The group split up and Ginny looked over her shoulder to see her dad take her mother's hand, pulling her along behind him, pointing. "Molly! Look at that! Eckeltricity! I wonder if there are any plugs nearby?"

She grinned and turned back. Harry said to her, "If your dad's not careful, he'll get too excited and splinch himself."

Ginny laughed. "Mum would have a right fit."

"So, Harry, what'll we do now?" asked Ron.

"I don't know," he said, shrugging.

"But this is a Muggle place!"

"That the Dursleys never took me to. I don't know anymore about it than you."

"Weren't you listening earlier, Ron?" chided Hermione. "Or was your stomach blocking your ears?"

"Funny girl, aren't you?" he said turning to her. "All right, Miss I-Know- Everything-Before-Ron-Does, where to?"

Hermione's eyes narrowed dangerously and she began speaking directly to Harry and Ginny. "Actually, my parents recently got the Internet at home so I surfed the Web for information about carnivals." She began walking toward a stall selling candy floss. "It's much faster than books."

Ginny shrugged her response when Ron looked at her for help. She had no idea what the inter-thing was.

"What's she on about?" Ron said to Harry.

"I'll explain later," he said, chuckling quietly.

Hermione returned with four bags of candy floss and passed one to each of them. Ron held up the bag peering at the pink contents.

"What do we need pillows for?" he asked.

She tutted. "It's not pillows, Ronald. It's called candy floss. You eat it," she said, demonstrating by taking a small chunk off and slipping it between her lips.

Ron opened the bag and pulled off an even smaller chunk, as if wary to take Hermione's word for it that it was indeed food. After examining the fluffy, pink thing more closely, he finally put it into his mouth and smiled.

"Blimey, that's good! Try this!" He shoved a piece under Ginny's nose.

She took it and smiled too after tasting it. "You're right. It melts almost immediately. Thanks, Hermione. Now maybe he'll stop whining about his stomach."

They followed Hermione around, vaguely listening to her history of the carnival. Ron was most interested in the food. They'd lose him occasionally only to find that he had stopped at just about every food stall they passed.

"Ron, you'll spoil your lunch!" cried Hermione.

"Really, Hermione, you should know by now that he never stops eating. When we were kids, he'd finish his dinner and then steal food off my plate," said Ginny, licking her sticky fingers.

"So what should we do first?" asked Harry, who grinned while Ron's face melted into ecstasy as he took a huge bite from a hamburger.

"I gotta give Muggles credit," he said, a big lump bulging his cheek. "They know how to cook."

"How about some games?" suggested Ginny, pointing at a long row of different games with men yelling at passersby, trying to get them to step up and play.

"Sounds good to me," said Harry. "Come on."

This time, Harry led the way with Ron weaving behind because his eyes were on the hamburger rather than where he was going. Hermione began hurriedly telling them about cheaters.

"We should be careful with these games. The majority of them may be rigged."

"Why?" asked Ginny curiously.

"They rig them so you can't possibly win and lose all your money while trying to," she explained.

"That's awful!"

"That would be the Slytherin thing to do," Harry commented mildly, stopping in front of a game he wanted to play.

Two men operated the large tank full of water, in which one man sat on a platform, dangling his legs in the rather dingy looking water. Pails of balls about the size of oranges sat on the grass next to the other man whose face lit up as Harry stopped. Stuffed animals of every size and color were neatly arranged off to the side.

"How cute!" exclaimed Ginny, pointing at the colorful animals. "Look at that pink teddy bear, Hermione!"

Harry smiled at her excitement and suddenly decided he was going to win her that bear. He stuffed his hand in his jeans pocket and pulled out a wad of money, counted out the correct amount and slapped it in the man's hand.

"Here to win a prize for your pretty lady?" he said, smiling at Ginny and without waiting for an answer, handed Harry two balls. "Now what you're going to do is try to hit that target and knock this scrawny thing into the dunk tank. Do that and you win a prize."

"Look at this kid!" said the man over the dunk tank suddenly. "You couldn't hit the target if it was banging you in the head!"

"We'll see about that," said Harry stonily, accepting the challenge.

"He's nothing but a baby!" continued the irritating man over the tank. "Look at those scrawny—"

But whatever was scrawny to the irritating man, they didn't find out. On Harry's first try, he hit the target dead center. The man's arms went flying into the air and he landed with a loud splash into the dingy water, spraying them with droplets.

The second man laughed. "Ha! Nobody's been able to hit it the first time, but I'll bet you couldn't do it again." He picked up a small stuffed blue cat. "I'll give you this if you walk away now, but if you miss again, you lose."

"And if I win?" Harry asked, unwilling to accept defeat. "What do I get?"

"Anything you want," he said, waving his arm over the large array of animals.

Ginny cupped her hand over Harry's ear and whispered, "Your Quidditch training has taken him by surprise."

Harry grinned proudly. The irritant in the water tank climbed back onto his platform, sputtering loudly and eying Harry meanly. Suddenly the man's face changed into the sneering, sallow face of Snape. Harry took aim and forced all his strength into the throw. Once again, the ball hit dead center and the man disappeared into the water.

Ginny and Hermione clapped and cheered excitedly. Ron, still munching on the hamburger said thickly, "'ood ob, ate!"

"Which prize will you be having, then?" barked the disgruntled man.

"That great pink bear," Harry said, pointing.

The man yanked it off the table and thrust it at Harry, then went back to yelling at people who might just be suckers.

"Here," he said, handing it to Ginny.

"Really?" she exclaimed in surprise, closing her arms around its neck.

"Yeah. My room is too small and pink's not my color anyway."

She laughed. "Thank you, Harry."

"You're welcome," he said, looking down at the ground, suddenly embarrassed.

"It's bigger than you are, Ginny," observed Hermione. "Maybe we should put it in the van so you don't have to carry it all day."

"Good idea," said Harry. "I'll go look for Ron—" who had disappeared again—"and meet you back here."

"That bear is huge," remarked Hermione, fumbling with the keys she had taken from her dad.

"Yeah, but it's awfully cute," said Ginny, admiring the gentle blue eyes that had long, stiff eyelashes.

"Sweet of Harry to win it for you," she said with a grin.

Ginny rolled her eyes and set the bear on the bench seat once Hermione opened the door.

"We're just friends, Hermione," she said firmly, but not altogether convinced herself, that that was all.

"Ginny, Colin Creevy is your friend," Hermione said pointedly. "Harry is something different."

She squeezed the bear's foot thoughtfully. "Well...I don't know. Something's different, but I don't want to say anything. I could be wrong and—" She sighed sadly—"I probably am."

Ginny slammed the car door and began heading back into the carnival. She happened to glance at Hermione, who was suddenly wearing a secretive smile. Ginny nudged her.

"What?" Hermione said in a much too casual tone.

"What're you smiling for?" Ginny asked through narrowed eyes.

She shrugged. "I was just thinking."

"What?" Ginny prompted impatiently.

"Bet you sleep with that next to your pillow tonight."

Ginny's mouth dropped open. "Hermione!"

Harry found Ron with half-eaten hot dogs in each hand. He was sitting in the grass by a merry-go-round full of screaming children, completely oblivious to everything except for the food in his hands.

"Hey, Harry. Want some?"

"No, thanks," he said, plopping down beside him and coming straight to the point. "Have you done anything about Hermione?"

Ron choked and coughed. Harry slapped him hard on the back and couldn't help but laugh. Ron's ears went bright red.

"What do you mean?" he asked nervously.

"Well, you're not exactly official are you?"

"I have to do something, you mean? To make it official?"

"Yeah, I think so," said Harry, scratching his head. "With Hermione, especially."

"Hermione's pretty clever though," Ron said eagerly. "She's probably got it all worked out!" He looked at Harry, as if for reassurance. "Right?"

"Look, Ron, I don't know what you should do, but you should do something or she's liable to hex you."

He gulped down the last of his hot dogs and wiped his hands on his jeans. "So what do you reckon? Should I kiss her or something?"

Harry stared. "You haven't kissed her yet?"

"N-no," he stammered. "Be-because I—what I mean to say is..." He sighed. "Blimey."

"You can say that again."

"Fine," he mumbled to himself. "I can kiss her. I can do that. I'm in Gryffindor. Kissing's not so tough." He looked up sharply. "What about you and my sister?"

"Huh?" Harry asked, startled at the abrupt change of girls.

Ron rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean. Do you like her or...something?"

Harry thought of many different responses that might possibly distract Ron, but he was receiving such an intense look from his best friend, that he knew Ron wouldn't believe any of them.

"Yeah, I think so," he said nodding, resigned to the fact that Ron now knew. He waited for the tirade that was sure to come, but it never did. Ron did, however, look sick to his stomach.

"Well, whatever you do, just don't do it in front of me." He shuddered.

"You mean you're not mad?" Harry asked, surprised that he wasn't bleeding from a punched nose by now.

"No, but she is my little sister and you're my best friend. It's...weird."

"It just happened, Ron. I can't explain how."

"I know, I know," he said quickly, as though afraid Harry would tell him more than he wanted to know. He pulled at the grass blades beside him. "We never can, right?"

"Right," he said, thinking back over the summer and remembering his anticipation at seeing Ginny again. It had taken him by surprise too. "You remember before second year started, you said she never shuts up?"

Ron screwed his eyes up in thought. "Yeah," he said slowly.

"You were right. We've been writing to each other all summer."

"So that's why I could never find Pig when I needed him," said Ron. "Well, if you really like Ginny—"He swallowed hard, as if trying to keep his food down—"Then you need to do something too, mate. But if you kiss her, just please don't do it in front of me. That's all I ask."

Harry had started to wonder if he should listen to his own advice as Hermione and Ginny were heading straight for them, heads together and whispering.

He'd never seen her look prettier. A cool breeze blew across the carnival grounds and clouds dotted the sky. Every so often, the sun would peek through and light up her coppery tresses, which whipped lightly about, escaping the bind that held it back. Then he snuck a look at Ron, who had gotten to his feet and brushed his jeans off. Harry knew what he wanted to do, but he just didn't know how to go about doing it.

"Hi!" said Ginny brightly.

"Hey," he said, getting up too.

"Hey, Hermione," said Ron, nervously looking this way and that, only glancing at her every so often.

"Ron," she greeted, wearing the look that meant she knew something they didn't.

"How are you?" Ron asked quietly.

"Fine, thanks. You?"

Harry thought Ron had definitely looked better than he did right now. He kept shoving his hands in his pockets and pulling them out again.

"All right. Er...so now what?"

Hermione looked around. "There are plenty of rides. Let's go find one we like."

"Okay. Come on," he said gruffly, and to everyone's surprise, took Hermione's hand and began pulling her along.

"Wow," said Ginny, looking mildly impressed. "What'd you say to him?"

"Nothing much. I said I just thought it was about time he did something."

"Good," she said approvingly. "Cause it seems to have worked."

Harry was wondering whether he ought to take after Ron and grab Ginny's hand. Just take it! He screamed to himself over and over, but his hand apparently no longer worked. Taking a girl's hand shouldn't be this hard!

"Harry, what is that?" Ginny said, tilting her head back to look at the very tall ride they'd just stopped in front of.

"It's a roller coaster," he said, shoving his hands in his pockets, annoyed with them. "It has loops in it too," he added excitedly. "Come on!"

All four got in line. The only one who didn't appear happy about this was Ron. He was eying the roller coaster nervously and jumped as the cars turned a loop and everyone on the ride screamed. He took a step back, shaking his head.

"Not for a thousand galleons!"

"Oh, honestly, Ron!" snapped Hermione. "If I can do this, so can you. I hate flying, but you're on the Quidditch team. This isn't any different."

"Yeah, it is," he argued. "On a broom, I'm not strapped down! What if I have to get off?"

"The ride is only about two minutes long. You won't have time to worry about anything."

"B-but," he tried to protest, but he never got the chance because the ride had stopped. People exited the cars and Hermione pushed him forward. Harry and Ginny got in the first car and Ron and Hermione in the second. A ride attendant came by and made sure they were all securely strapped in and Hermione, who was obviously nervous, started in on the history of roller coasters.

"Many historians agree that—that, oh my, it's so far down—that the origin of the rides were called the Russian Ice Slides. T-they first appeared in the seventeenth century as large slides throughout Russia." Hermione began talking faster and faster as the line of cars moved shakily up the track, rocking them backwards and forwards. "What would l-later become St. Petersburg was the main concentration of the slides." She audibly gulped. "Most of the structures were built from...from, what was it? Oh yes, number, I mean, lumber. Covering the surface was a sheet of ice several inches thick and—"

"Hermione, shut up!" bellowed Ron.

Harry glanced at Ginny. Her eyes were closed. "All right there, Ginny?"

"I'll manage!"

They had just about reached the top of the first hill.

He laughed. "Put your arms up when we go over the hill."

"I-I don't know if I can, Harry!" She opened one eye and peered over the side, then sharply turned away. "I'm on the Quidditch team too. I can do this." She peered over the side again. "Oh, it's a long way down!"

"Here! Hold my hand and raise your other one!" He yelled over the motor of the ride.

Her surprising grip made him wince a bit. Her right arm rose shakily to the air and she didn't open her eyes completely, but squinted. The crest of the hill appeared and the front car tipped forward. They went shooting straight down.

"Woo hoo!" Harry cried.

Ginny screamed and then laughed, but Ron's scream put Ginny's to shame by about a mile.

The ride came to a stop after the tenth time they rode it, minus Ron and Hermione. Ginny and Harry had claimed the first car and each time a new round of people were ready to ride, fought their way to the front of the line.

By then, Ginny was keeping her eyes open, but still holding onto Harry's hand, which he didn't mind one bit. Strangely enough, asking her to hold it hadn't been that hard after all, but they were on a scary ride. He still didn't know what to do after it was over.

They waved at Ron and Hermione every time they got to the top of the highest hill and laughed hysterically whenever the track looped upside down. When at last, they decided they'd had enough, they pushed through the line of people who were waiting their turn. Ginny stumbled a bit and Harry caught her arm to steady her.

She mumbled through a mess of tangled hair covering her face. "I'm dizzy."

"Me too," he said, admiring her mass of wavy red. The bind had come loose their sixth time on the ride and they hadn't been able to find it. Harry preferred it this way. "Can you even see?"

"No!" she laughed, trying to shove it out of the way.

Without thinking too much about what he was doing, Harry pushed her hair away from her face and then suddenly shoved it back. "Naw, I think it looks better this way!"

She slapped him lightly on the stomach and moved her hair out of the way. Hermione and Ron hurried over with Ron still looking a bit green.

"How could you stand it ten times in a row?" Hermione asked them. "I absolutely hated it!"

"See?" Ron tried to point out to her. "It wasn't like being on a broom."

Ginny shrugged. "Dunno. It was just fun and yes, it was kind of like flying on a broom, Ron."

"Whatever," he grumbled. "Let's try something else that's not a coller roaster."

Harry snorted his laughter and Hermione sighed impatiently. "Roller coaster, Ronald!"

Ron rolled his eyes, but then his expression changed to shock. "Look at that!"

They all looked to what he pointed at and shared looks of surprise.

A group of Muggles was huddled together around one other person, talking excitedly about the thing the man was showing to them. It looked suspiciously like an Ollivander's wand. Automatically, Harry touched his pocket, fearing his own wand might have dropped out during the ride and saw that the others were doing the same.

"Everyone got theirs?" asked Ginny.

"Yep," said Ron.

"Me too," said Hermione with obvious relief. "Harry?"

"Yeah," he said, frowning.

The wand shot red sparks and every Muggle gasped their surprise. Then suddenly, fireworks shot out from the end. The Muggles clapped and one said: "Cool! They can do anything with technology today!"

Another said, "The computer chip must be really small!"

"Fred and George are here somewhere, I'm sure of it!" Ginny said suddenly. "This would be the perfect place to try out new products on unsuspecting Muggles. Look over there!"

Sure enough, more of the Muggles could be seen with the wands and various other things that exploded, sending bubbles and slime flying. All four hurried over to the front of a very crowded stall. Ron, being the tallest, saw over the crowd.

He smiled. "Ginny was right! OI! Fred! George!"

"Ronniekins? Is that you?"

"Come on," said Ron, rolling his eyes at the less than flattering endearment and pushing his way to the front.

Two flaming red heads appeared, bustling about the little stall, selling products so fast, Harry wondered how they kept up with the pace.

"Welcome to the newcomers! What'll it be?" said George.

"What're you two doing here?" Hermione whispered harshly. "You're not really selling—"She lowered her voice even more—"Products with magic, are you?"

"Of course," said Fred, digging around in a box and pulling out a pointed black hat that was innocent looking enough, but Harry knew better. As soon as the eager customer rammed it on his head, the hat did something so entirely magical, Harry wondered why Fred and George weren't being chased around by Ministry of Magic officials.

The person wearing said hat suddenly changed. Or rather, his face changed...into a monkey and he squawked just as loud as a monkey in the zoo. It only lasted for a split second, then suddenly his face morphed into the yellow face of a canary, chirping at everyone around him. Then it changed again into a glassy-eyed goldfish with popping lips. The people around him gasped excitedly and more calls for the pointy black hat erupted. The man yanked it off and shook his head as if to clear it.

"Wow! Computers can do anything these days! What'll they think of next?"

As he left, he plopped the hat back on and was immediately barking like a dog and scratching his long brown ears.

"What's that one called?" asked Ron.

"Hat trick!" said Fred cheerfully.

Harry glanced at Hermione, who watched the whole thing in a kind frozen shock. "I can't believe this! The two of you are crazy! This is illegal!"

"Your point?" said George, eagerly eying the pile of money that was steadily growing behind the counter.

"Hermione, calm down," said Ron.

"But they're using magic in front of Muggles!" she said through gritted teeth.

"Correction!" said Fred, holding up his index finger toward the sky. "We're not using."

"We're selling," said Fred.

"Clearly, there's a difference," they said together.

Hermione folded her arms and said huffily. "Oh, yes. Clearly."

The little girl next to her shoved an orange gumball into her mouth and a jet of fire shot out. Then she sneezed and another shot out of her nose.

Harry, Ginny and Ron were laughing. Hermione, however, was still picking at the twins. "Your mum's here. Wouldn't you like to say hi?" she said threateningly.

Fred and George both slowed a bit and shared a look, probably reading each other's minds, as they often did. At last, they acknowledged Hermione's threat.

"Look, Hermione," whispered Fred. "They're happy Muggles. They keep going on about those computer things. We're just trying to put some excitement into their drab little lives."

"Yeah, Hermione," piped up Ginny. "Give them a break."

"Fine!" she snapped, folding her arms defensively. "But if you get into trouble, it's your own fault!"

"Well, technology's a big thing these days," said Harry. "They've managed to convince all these Muggles that their products are computerized. That's pretty impressive."

"Yeah, and Muggles will believe anything you tell them," said Ron.

"Thank you," said Fred and George in unison.

George clapped his hands together. "Well! We have customers to attend to and Weasley's Wizard Wheezes to hand out."

"Yeah, we can't waste time standing here with you lot," said Fred.

"Run along, children!" They said in unison again.

"See you later!" said Ginny.

"Hey, Ron! Wait!" called Fred.

Ron waited and Fred put a brotherly arm around his shoulders and whispered something in his ear. Harry caught the words 'impress' and 'Hermione' and then Fred pointed his hand and waved it back and forth as though giving Ron directions to something. Ron looked at Hermione and nodded. Fred clapped him on the back.

"What was all that about?" Harry asked, once they'd left the frenzy that always followed Fred and George.

"He was telling me how I could impress, Hermione," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Impress Hermione?" His brows drew together. "How?"

"They said there was some sort of strength testing thing."

"What does it look like?"

"Supposedly, you take this large hammer, pound something, and a bell rings. He said it's not too far from here."

"Yeah, I know what he's talking about," Harry said. "I've seen those on Dudley's television."

"Hermione's not like other girls," Ron said doubtfully. "You really think she'd be impressed?"

Harry shrugged. "How should I know?" The extent of his experience with girls was not anything to brag about. Sometimes the whole thing with Cho didn't feel big enough to be called a thing, as it hadn't lasted past one date.

"Worth a try, I s'pose," he said quietly and then looked up suddenly at the girls who were a good ways ahead of them.

"All right then," Ron said resignedly. "Hermione! Ginny!" Both girls turned when they heard their names. Harry and Ron ran to catch them up. "Fred and George told me about something we should do before we leave today."

Hermione, obviously still annoyed, tutted. "I don't think I want to do anything they suggest."

"Well, not you actually. Just me and Harry."

"What? Me?" Harry said quickly. "You never said anything about me!"

But Ron ignored him and took Hermione's hand. "Trust me, Hermione."

"Not sure that's wise," smirked Ginny. Ron scowled at her and then turned in the opposite direction. "So where are we going?" she asked.

"To test Ron's strength," he said, unable to suppress a laugh.

"To show off for Hermione," she finished, nodding. "What will he do exactly?"

"You'll see," he said cryptically.

"Hey, are you really going to do it too?"

Harry shrugged disinterestedly. "I guess."

"You there, young man!" said a stout little man by a tall tower, holding the stem of a large, wooden hammer that rested on the grass. "Yes, the redhead. You look sturdy enough."

"High Striker," read Ginny slowly, looking at the bright red and blue sign. "What's he supposed to do?"

"See that hammer?" said Harry, pointing as Hermione discreetly told Ron how much to pay the man. Ginny nodded. "He has to hit that round thing on the ground and the amount of weight forces the marker to shoot up the tower and ring the bell."

"Oh, that's all?"

"Yes," said Hermione dramatically, "But it can be very difficult as the hammer weighs a great deal."

Ginny grinned. Hermione was watching interestedly as Ron picked up the large hammer, swung it high over his head and pounded the round thing so hard, the little marker shot up the numbered tower and the clang of the bell sounded loudly, earning catcalls and applause from the watching crowd.

"Ron!" exclaimed Hermione. "That was perfect!"

The grin on Ron's face got very cocky. "Yeah, it was, wasn't it?" He then planted a very firm kiss on a stunned Hermione, whose cheeks were pinker than her shirt.

"That was great, Ron," said Harry, cuffing him on the shoulder.

"Thanks, mate. Why don't you have a go?"

"Okay," he said grudgingly, paying the man and stepping up to the game as though it were a Blast-Ended Skrewt.

Ginny had plenty of faith in his strength, but when he swung the hammer down, she saw the slightest hesitation at the last second and the bell produced a very feeble ding. The crowd cheered him nonetheless and Harry grinned sheepishly.

Ron slapped him on the back. "Better luck next time, eh, Harry?" Onlookers laughed, including Harry. Ginny, however, didn't laugh, but her smile was the biggest one there. Harry had hesitated on purpose to let the limelight fall on Ron for once.

After they left, Ron was still going on about how easy it had been. Ginny kept watching Harry silently, but he caught her before she could look away.

"What?"

"Nothing," she said casually.

This apparently wasn't good enough because he nudged her. "What?" he asked again.

"Nothing!".

"Well, it's got to be something if you keep looking at me like that," he insisted.

"I was just thinking that...you're very strong."

"Obviously not as strong as Ron," he said quietly, keeping his head turned away from her.

"Oh, I don't know about that," she said softly.

Harry looked at her then and she looked back, wondering if he understood. His face changed ever so slightly and had she not memorized Harry's numerous expressions, subtle as they were, she'd have missed it. He slowed a bit and they fell behind Hermione and Ron, who leisurely strolled hand in hand.

"Ginny—"he began cautiously.

"What?" she interrupted. "All I said was that you're very strong."

He nodded slowly and said nothing more for several minutes. But then to her extreme surprise, he gently took her hand. "I've had fun today."

Her beat a little faster. "Me too."

Ron's voice rang out. "Look at that!"

"A sideshow!" said Hermione, brightly, moving in for a closer look.

"What's that?" asked Ginny.

"They do Muggle magic tricks or have contortionists bending every which way and sometimes acrobats who jump around all crazy like. All kinds of stuff," Harry explained.

This particular sideshow was a magician and his "Lovely assistant, Mistress Marta!" as he called her. Marta wore a shocking pink skin-tight costume with a brightly sequined aqua belt and high-heeled shoes to match.

"Ugh!" said Ginny, disgustedly.

Ron laughed and pointed to the pink lady. "Can you see McGonagall in that outfit?"

Hermione pushed his hand back down. "Ron, that's not very appropriate," she scolded.

The magician flapped his long black cape dramatically, earning sighs and giggles from the women and ridiculously waved his wand. Ginny was reminded vaguely of Lockhart as he tapped the brim of a top hat, saying: "Abra cadabra!" His face twisted, as if in deep concentration, trying to get the magic to do his will. Mistress Marta reached inside and pulled out a rabbit.

"Oh, please!" laughed Ron a little too loudly, earning some annoyed looks, one from Hermione.

"Ron," she whispered heatedly. "They're doing the best they can as it's all they know."

"But it's just a trick!"

The pink lady was closed up in a box and sawed in half. Ron's face turned bright red because he couldn't stop snickering. Ginny wasn't far off either. She'd hidden behind Harry and stuffed her fist in her mouth to keep from laughing. Harry wasn't much help either. He kept moving aside and exposing her so that they danced about and ran into people. Hermione glared at them, as did everyone else, who were trying to watch the show. Harry grabbed Ron by the arm.

"I think we should leave. It's about time to meet up for lunch anyway," he said, looking at his watch.

Ron turned back for one last look and howled with laughter when Mistress Marta, who was supposed to disappear inside the magic box covered with a curtain, in fact, disappeared behind the stall crouching to avoid being seen by the audience.

"Did you study that kind of rubbish in Muggle Studies, Hermione?" he asked.

"No," she said tersely.

Ron was still chuckling by the time they found the Grangers and their mum and dad near the entrance waiting for them. They found a section of tables and chairs and sat down with several orders of fish and chips. Lunch went smoothly until Ron threw a handful of chips at Ginny. She tossed them back, hitting him square in the nose.

When Harry had first taken her hand, he'd held it loosely, as though afraid she wouldn't accept such intimate contact from him. She hoped he knew she didn't mind in the least and squeezed his hand. Harry looked at her quickly, down at their intertwined fingers and then back at her. Ginny held her breath, wondering what he'd do next. He had never been loved in the house he grew up in. He wasn't used to that emotion. Well, she thought, he'll just have to get used to it!

The corner of his mouth lifted the tiniest bit as he watched her and tightened his grip.

They returned to the roller coaster, this time with her dad. He screamed the whole time, but jumped back in line immediately. They tried out more of the games and Ginny did very well, tossing balls through hoops. She wasn't a Gryffindor Chaser for nothing. By late afternoon, they all carried bundles of prizes they'd won. Ron was completely fascinated with a blue Muggle toy called a water gun and had been shooting everyone on the way to the van...until Ginny wrestled it away from him, opened the spout and dumped the entire contents over his head.

The back seat of the van was still there waiting for them and all four climbed inside, not minding in the least that they would be smashed together again. The large pink bear still sat there waiting for Ginny next to her mum and dad on the second row. Not much of Hermione could be seen. Her lap was full of stuffed animals that Ron had won.

"I hope you have a place to put it," Harry said, frowning. "It didn't look that big earlier."

"Don't worry. I've got the perfect place in mind," she said, exchanging meaningful grins with Hermione behind Ron's back.

The ride home was quiet. Hermione's head had dropped onto Ron's shoulder and his rested on top of hers. For once, he wasn't snoring...much. Ginny, close to sleep, leaned heavily against Harry. His arm rested not on the back seat, but around her shoulders, and this time, it didn't feel uncomfortable. He'd never been more comfortable, in fact. She sighed and turned toward him, her hair tickled his chin and he smiled at the newness of the sensation, looking forward to many more like it.

Today had been full of surprises, the least of which had been Muggles walking around with wands of Fred's and George's design. Harry was sad to see it all come to an end, but as he looked down at the pretty girl in his arms, he knew nothing was coming to an end. This was just the beginning.

Ron, Harry and Ginny climbed from their back seats once Mr. Granger pulled into the yard of the Burrow. Mr. Weasley shook hands with Mr. Granger and disappeared inside the house. Mrs. Weasley pecked Mrs. Granger on the cheek and followed along after her husband.

In a few weeks they'd be seeing Hermione again, as her parents said she could be allowed to come to the Burrow in another week or two before the start of term. She and Ron had a quiet good-bye and a brief kiss. Ginny and Harry pretended not to notice and went inside.

They stopped at Ginny's room and she dumped her armful of animals onto her bed. Harry set the giant bear onto the floor and fumbled a bit about where to put his hands again...bloody hands, and just settled for pushing them into his jeans pockets. This was Ginny's bedroom, a place he'd never considered before and now he was almost dying to get away, but he couldn't just leave.

"So, er...today was great," he said, rocking back and forth from heel to toe.

"Yeah. I'll never forget it," she said quietly, stroking the head of the pink bear. "I'm glad Dumbledore let you come early."

"Me too."

Silence. Too much silence. Something else should happen, but what? And then it did, but not what he expected. Ginny's back was to Harry and her shoulders were shaking. Fearing she was crying and he had caused it, he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Ginny?" he asked fearfully.

She turned around and tears were just forming, but she wasn't sad. She was laughing and had been trying to keep it hidden. Now that he'd seen, she let out a bark of laughter so loud that she covered her mouth. Soon they were both doubled over.

"I'm...s—sorry!" she gasped, trying to catch her breath. "But it—it all just seemed"— Big sigh—"Funny suddenly."

"I know," he chuckled, taking off his glasses and wiping his eyes.

"Well, I guess we should get cleaned up. Mum'll have dinner ready soon," she said.

"Yeah," he said, replacing his glasses, backing away, but stopping suddenly.

"What?" she said curiously.

A war waged in Harry's mind. Should he or shouldn't he? Would it be right in a house with her parents and brother? He wanted to, but working up the nerve proved to be more difficult than he thought.

Her red eyebrows slowly rose questioningly. "Harry? Is something wrong?"

He shook his head. This shouldn't be that hard. He'd faced worse! Surely kissing a girl was easier than nearly being burned to a crisp by a Hungarian Horntail? Finding his courage, he took a step toward her and took her hand.

"Harry?" she whispered, eyes wide as she suddenly understood.

He bent his head and very gently, but firmly placed a kiss on her barely parted lips. He said nothing else and backed away slowly, enjoying the look of shock on her pink face.

"Well, see you at dinner then," he said casually, giving her a little wave.

He looked over his shoulder at Ginny one more time and grinned. She finally grinned back and shyly returned the wave. On the way to Ron's room, Harry couldn't stop grinning. True, it had been entirely too brief for his liking, but they had to start somewhere.


End file.
